Seahawks News: Computer Picks Seattle to Lose Super Bowl

The computers have spoken. According to the all-knowing buttons and switches, the Seattle Seahawks will make the Super Bowl this season. However, they will lose to…wait for it…the Denver Broncos!

Alright, you can stop laughing now. Don’t hurt the computer’s feelings. It worked hard on this particular result.

First of all, we have to state the obvious. Computers are fallible. Computers are programmed by people. Therefore, much like the BCS “standings,” you cannot easily differentiate between computer polls and “human” polls. Art imitates life, or in this case, programming.

Also, don’t tell me that history repeats itself. It doesn’t. That is one of the more incorrect statements that continues to get repeated (ironically). Too many factors change for us to confidently suggest that there is a predictable cycle to humanity. Computers are going to predict the future based on the past, and that past is already gone.

But, that is side note. The point is still that the computers think the Broncos will edge the ‘Hawks in the next Super Bowl.

For Seattle fans, this is a laughable scenario. It would be different if the Seahawks had barely defeated the Broncos in New York. However, that game was no contest. It was beautifully one-sided, and while the rosters of the two teams have changed, they haven’t changed that much.

Apparently the computer did these calculations 50,000 times, as if that is supposed to mean something. Most people know just enough about statistics to be dangerous, but in this case the number of calculations is irrelevant. What is more important is the variables.

The bottom line is these predictions are good for some short-term amusement, but they are ultimately irrelevant. For the Seahawks, the challenge may be more about getting out of the NFC, and less about who they might face if they make the Super Bowl.

Maybe this scenario unfolds, and we get a rematch in Super Bowl 49. Still, the Broncos beating the Seahawks is hard to fathom.